Experiences of ethnic-racial discrimination, self-esteem, and subjective well-being in the Peruvian population.

Introduction: Ethnic-racial discrimination can have adverse effects on the physical health and psychological wellbeing of those who experience it. Peru is a country where the perception of discrimination based on race/ethnicity is high. However, few psychological studies have addressed this issue. In this regard, the aim of this study is to examine the relationship between experiences of ethnic-racial discrimination, self-esteem, and subjective wellbeing in a Peruvian sample. Material and methods: Using a cross-sectional associative design, a structural regression model was created with R software, in which experiences of ethnic-racial discrimination predict self-esteem and subjective wellbeing, and these are correlated. To this end, 645 Peruvian adults (65.1% women and 34.9% men) between the ages of 18 and 63 ( Results: The model showed adequate fit for the overall sample (CFI = 0.990; TLI = 0.989; RMSEA = 0.072; SRMR = 0.059), indicating that experiences of discrimination decrease self-esteem (β = -0.111) and subjective well-being (β = -0.087; Conclusions: Experiences of ethnic and racial discrimination can lower self-esteem, but their effects are minor. Similarly, with subjective wellbeing, however, the effects are almost null. This relationship is more pronounced in males and younger individuals.